Relationship Between ¹⁸F‐fluorodeoxyglucose Accumulation and the <i>BRAF</i>^V600E Mutation in Papillary Thyroid Cancer

Abstract

Abstract Background To determine whether 18 F‐fluoro‐2‐deoxyglucose ( 18 F‐FDG)‐PET/CT is useful for predicting the BRAF V600E mutation status of a primary papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Methods A retrospective analysis was performed in 108 patients who underwent 18 F‐FDG positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET/CT) for staging before thyroidectomy and BRAF analysis in biopsy‐confirmed PTC. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max ) of the primary tumor was calculated according to FDG accumulation. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the association between the SUV max and clinicopathological variables. Results The BRAF V600E mutation was detected in 71 of 108 (65.7%) patients. In all subjects, the tumor size and BRAF V600E mutation were independently related to the SUV max according to multivariate analyses ( P = 0.002 and 0.007, respectively). The SUV max was significantly higher in tumors with the BRAF V600E mutation than in tumors with wild‐type BRAF (10.24 ± 11.89 versus 4.02 ± 3.86; P = 0.007). In the tumor size &gt;1 cm subgroup, the BRAF V600E mutation was the only factor significantly associated with the SUV max ( P = 0.016). A SUV max cutoff level of 4.9 was determined to be significant for predicting the BRAF V600E mutation status (sensitivity 77.4%, specificity 100.0%, area under the curve 0.929; P &lt; 0.0001) according to ROC curve analysis. Conclusions The BRAF V600E mutation is independently associated with high 18 F‐FDG uptake in PTC, especially in those with a tumor size &gt;1 cm.